Onyx Days
by Satashi
Summary: Fate takes care of Nanoha while she's sick. As the sickness spreads, couples get closer while looking after each other.
1. Chapter 1

It wasn't going to be one of my good days, that much was certain. Waking up this morning was one of the hardest things I have ever done, and that's saying a lot considering how many times I've pushed myself up on the battlefield. My whole body felt weak, numb and my eyes refused to focus on anything around me. Brushing my teeth and getting dressed took me almost twice as long as it normally did, even with Fate not being there to talk to. I had slept in to almost six in the morning, which was normally the time the training started for my forward soldiers. Now I was flying to the practice field, barley able to hold myself up in the air. The training area already had the imitation city on it and the sight made me smile despite how awful I felt. Seeing my students take it upon themselves to start training without me being there really made my heart warm.

**Onyx Days  
**

**By:**

**Satashi**

Nanoha landed roughly on her observer's stand and weakly moved her hand out in front of her after catching her balance. "Good morning everybody." She greeted them hoarsely. Disregarding her voice, she continued. "Sorry I'm late, I had a little trouble getting out of my apartment this morning."

"No problem!" Subaru grinned at her through the screen. "We were going to try some target practice but none of us know how to work the computer that well so we just decided to go with combat."

"I see," Nanoha typed a few commands out. "I don't think I will be able to join you today so I will just observe."

"Are you feeling okay?" Carol spoke up as she leaned forward to look at the display in front of her. "You look a little dazed, Nanoha-san."

"I feel fine thank you." Nanoha smiled at her. "I appreciate your concern."

"…Okay," The pink haired girl didn't look like she quite believed her.

"Well then," A few more buttons were pressed and simulation enemies appeared in the city. "Your mission today is to eliminate thirty targets. Use whatever methods you want but be sure to finish within an hour."

"That's one target every two minutes!" Tia cried out in shock. "Even if there are four of us, they're always set to be slightly above our skill level!"

Nanoha smiled at them. "Then I'll give you sixty five minutes."

'_She's a slave driver!_' Subaru winced. '_Even if we've progressed more than twice the rate of other people at our level…_'

"Up to it?" Elio asked as he looked at the targets hovering above the ground in front of him. Light rain drops started to fall around the group.

"It will be difficult now," Carol replied uneasily as the rain picked up almost instantly. "A morning shower won't last long but it'll still cover the time we have to finish this… I'll give everyone water repellent magic to keep us from getting bogged down with rain."

"Thank you!" Subaru gave her a thumbs up.

"Carol is always handy," Tia agreed as she loaded her twin pistols.

"Ready?" Nanoha asked from the display. The students all nodded at her sternly. "Go!" her hand pressed a button and the machines all took off. With the video display of herself gone the instructor of the group brought a hand to her mouth and swallowed thickly. '_Why did it have to rain today of all days?_' The wind blew around her harshly, making the drops of water sting against her skin. '_Of all the technological advancements on this planet you still have to have some type of device to hold to simply block rain… and mine is at my apartment._' She shivered as the rain beat against her and for a moment debated going into the training field to sit in one of the buildings. The idea got better and better and when she finally decided to do it she realized that if she moved right now that she was probably going to throw up.

"I knew you would forget to bring it this morning," A voice came up beside her and the rain suddenly stopped beating on her. "I swear, sometimes you really worry me."

Nanoha looked to the side to see Fate standing next to her, holding in her hand something that resembled a handle that extended up to form a clear semi-spherical shield above them that blocked out the water. "Fate-chan," She greeted woozily. "I thought you had officer stuff to attend to this morning?"

"Cancelled due to the flu going around. A few of our members can't show up so we just postponed it to a few days down…the...road… Nanoha-chan you don't look good."

"You look pretty too when you're sopping wet," She teased as she made use of her friend being there and leaned up against her.

"Really, are you okay?" Fate shifted her umbrella and put a hand against her friend's neck. "Nanoha you're really hot."

"Thank you."

"It wasn't a compliment." She shifted the shorter girl around so she could look at her better. "Nanoha-chan, are you feeling okay? For real?"

"Fine," Nanoha stood up properly to prove her point, but ended up falling over a few moments afterwards. The blond tried to catch her as best she could but both ended up falling to the wet ground. "Nyahaha… I slipped in the water." She found that laying down was a lot better than standing up so she decided to stay that way.

"Nanoha-chan? … Nanoha-chan!?" Fate shook her lightly. "H-hey! Nanoha-chan!" The umbrella was dropped quickly in favor of holding the panting girl. "Say something!"

"Nyahaha…." She looked up at her with flushed cheeks.

Fate waved her hand out, getting a few displays in the air. "All of you continue your current task and when you're done use the rest of the day to rest your bodies. Something's wrong with Nanoha-chan so I'm taking her to Shamal."

"Will she be okay?" Subaru asked as she pressed her back against a pillar to avoid the beams being shot at her.

"Yeah, she's a tough cookie." Fate let the displays fade and scooped up her friend, who was trying to protest. "Shush, you're going straight to a bed and a change of cloths." The girl hovered lightly in the air and sped through the rain. Fortunately the doctor's office wasn't far from the training ground so the trip didn't take very long at all. Cold air greeted the pair as they entered, making Fate shiver since she was more wet than dry.

"I'm going to throw up," Nanoha muttered, curling her body up against Fate's as best she could while being carried to try and find some warmth. "You have about…. Thirty seconds to put me down…"

As pleasing of the thought of putting her down to avoid such a scenario was, Fate pressed on, flying down the hallway and giving the receptionist an apologizing look for leaving the trail of water in her wake. Upon entering Shamal's normal room, the blond looked up startled since they didn't bother knocking. "She's about to lose it," Fate called out as Nanoha covered her moth and swallowed.

"Right there," Shamal pointed to the side towards the bathroom with her pen, as if this was nothing new to her lately.

Fate managed to get her friend to the bathroom with just enough time to get the girl's sopping wet hair out of the way before she lost whatever breakfast she had eaten that morning. "You could have at least got your ponytail going this morning…" She made a face when Nanoha coughed a little. "Ew, gross…" She tried better to keep the hair out of her way.

"S-sorry…" Nanoha breathed shakily a moment before leaning back over. "Not again…"

The blond closed her eyes and gave her friend a few moments to recover before looking back over at her. A deep feeling of worry filled her chest as Nanoha simply nodded and allowed herself to fall over to the side, too weak to even keep herself up anymore. "Hey now…" Fate reached over and helped her back to a sitting position. "Here, let me clean you up a little…" She got a washrag from the stack of them on the counter and wiped her friend's face off with it. "There you go…"

"Thanks…" She fell against her and panted. "I'm okay now, please take me back to the training field."

Fate actually laughed out loud. "Oh yeah, we're going right now." Lifting her, she carried the girl back into the main room where Shamal was cheerfully awaiting them by a bed. "Here you are Nanoha-chan, lay down." She sat the girl on the bed and looked at her weakly allow her head to roll to the side. Seeing her friend so tired made her instantly lose the humor and get serious. "I've never seen someone look so…weak… just from the flu?"

"Well, Nanoha-chan is a special case," Shamal sighed, hooking up something to the girl's wrist to take her pulse. "Most everyone here is used to the flu and although they still catch it, their bodies are used to fighting it off… Since Nanoha is from a medium-technology planet that's never had to encounter our diseases before…"

"She's more vulnerable to them, huh?" Fate took her friend's hand between hers and rubbed her thumbs over it. "She was already asleep last night before I got home so I didn't get to talk to her. I was a little worried that she was in bed a few hours earlier than normal but…"

"…'N dun forget…" Nanoha muttered, making both of them look at her. "Su…ru… load car….'an Fate…. Blueberry muffin…"

Fate blinked. "Isn't it a little too early to have hallucinating flu dreams?"

Shamal was more amused by the sleep talking than the weird dream the girl was having. "She's just cold and confused I think." Leaning over, Shamal moved the wet hair from Nanoha's face. "Nanoha, wake up for me please?"

The brown haired girl opened her eyes slowly. "Are we there already?"

"Yeah," Shamal lied happily. "They're training really hard so I need you to try hard for me too okay?"

"… 'kay?"

"Tell me how you feel, and be honest."

The girl looked at her a little confused before moving her eyes across the room and trying to get her bearings. "I'm cold."

"Oh wow, how did she even manage to _get_ to the training ground this morning?" Fate wondered aloud as she gently stroked her friend's hand.

"Her body probably just gave up after she got sick just now and everything crashed on her all at once." Shamal pet the girl lying down. "Does your tummy hurt?"

"Yes."

"How about your joints?"

"Yes."

"How cold are you?"

"I'm hot." Nanoha looked rather uncomfortable. "I'm sweating."

Shamal blinked. "Hot flashes? That's not good." She watched the girl's body shiver even though she just complained about being too warm. "Let me get her some medicine and then take her straight to bed after a warm shower. She'll be a little weird to deal with until the medicine kicks in. Combination of being sleepy and sick, she's just a little confused."

"I see." Fate watched over her friend until the doctor came back and handed her a small bottle of pills. "Anything else I should do?"

"Try and get her to eat, keep her warm, lots of fluids, the usual you know." Shamal gave her another bottle of liquid medicine. "And you need to take two table spoons of this every twelve hours."

"What for?" The blond looked at the clear bottle and frowned darkly when she turned it over and saw the liquid inside move like a thick molasses. "Eww..."

"Its grape flavor," Shamal informed her happily.

"Why do I need this?"

"So you won't get sick as well. I trust you were vaccinated?" She received a nod. "Good. Then I'm almost a hundred percent confident you'll get out of this perfectly fine as long as you drink that."

The girl sighed. "Yes ma'am." She scooped up her friend who was already asleep once more. "As unorthodox as this is, do you mind if we go through your window? I'd rather get her out of the rain and into some clean cloths as soon as possible, not have to run around the building…"

"We'll keep this between us," Shamal winked as she waved her hand. One of her large glass windows de-formed, allowed them access to the outside. "But only this once okay?"

Fate smiled. "Thanks." With that, she flew up slowly and exited the window, quickly making a beeline to her balcony, which was a straight shot from that angle.

"Those two are such a bad influence on me," Shamal mused.

The girls landed on the balcony a few moments later and were inside the loft apartment soon afterwards. "We're home," She told her friend as she walked over to the bathroom. "We're going to take a shower okay?"

"I just took one," Nanoha protested weakly. "I need to go train…"

"You were in the rain silly girl." Fate sat her friend down on the walk-in shower floor, too afraid that she would fall over to allow her on her feet or anywhere else. "Undress."

"I'm not in the mood," Nanoha closed her eyes and leaned against the shower wall. "Maybe later."

Fate felt her cheeks color a little, wondering just what Nanoha thought she had meant when she said that. A few minutes later she finally managed to pull the last article of clothing from her friend before setting the shower heads and the water temperature. "I guess we'll go ahead and get clean too since we're warming you up." Fate sat on her knees with the sick girl in front of her, directly under the six shower streams falling on them. "I'll wash your back."

"Mm…" She nodded sleepily and allowed the girl to do just that. Slowly the time went by and after she had her hair washed, Nanoha simply gave up trying to sit still and instead leaned back against Fate. "I don't feel good…"

"Are you going to get sick again?"

"Nuh-uh," She made herself comfortable by resting against Fate's neck and shoulder. "Can we stay like this for a little while?"

"Sure," The girl shifted awkwardly so her legs went on either side of Nanoha and her arms around her stomach. "Is this okay?"

"Yeah…" She leaned back more against her. "Being held by Fate is always okay."

"D…Don't say things like that when we're naked…"

"Why?" Her voice was getting sleepy.

"Because…" She couldn't come up with any reason that didn't make it sound perverted.

"Nyahaha…" The giggle was weak, but still made Fate smile lightly and cuddle the girl.

"Well… I guess its okay."

"Thank you," Nanoha closed her eyes and put her hands on top of Fate's. "If I go to sleep, will you carry me to bed?"

"I will," She felt her lips turn up into a smile. "Although I need you awake to dry you off."

"I'll sleep wet…" her voice trailed off.

Fate sat there contently holding her friend while she dozed off. The serenity of the situation began to get to her as well, forcing the blond to cut off the water before she fell asleep along with her. Nanoha regained enough of her senses to properly dry herself off but still had to put an arm around Fate to make it to their bed before collapsing onto it. "Stay awake for a bit okay? I'm going to get you some water, do you think you can eat anything?"

"Not right now…" Nanoha sprawled out on the bed, making Fate instantly flush dark red and look away since the towel had fallen from her.

"O-okay!" She hurried to the bathroom quickly, filling up a glass she grabbed from their nightstand along the way. Once back, she helped her friend to a sitting position and fed her the pill. "Good girl. Sleep now."

"Sleep with me?" Nanoha weakly kept her eyes open. "Please?"

"Um… Bardiche?"

"Yes sir?" The mechanical device answered promptly from its place on the nightstand.

"What does my schedual look like?"

"All clear."

"All clear? Bardiche, check again, I should have several things on it."

"Doctor's excuse for Fate T. Harlaown and Nanoha Takamachi last three days for Fate and six days for Nanoha, sir."

"… Thanks Shamal." Fate looked down at her friend, who was still looking at her through half closed eyes. "Okay, Nanoha-chan. I'll sleep with you."

"Yay," She smiled, reaching out a hand for her.

Fate took the offered hand and allowed herself to be weakly pulled into bed, where she got under the covers with her friend. At first she went to make herself comfortable but soon found Nanoha's hand around her stomach and cheek resting against her chest. "Na-Nanoha-chan?"

"Hm?" The arm she was laying on reached out a little until it found Fate's hand, where she interlaced their fingers.

"U-um… I don't mind cuddling with you but…we're both naked right now and well…"

"Does it bother you?" Nanoha looked up at her quizzically.

"N-not really…It's just that…" She blushed furiously when her friend slid her leg up against hers, almost straddling her thigh now. A cute content sound made her realize that the brown haired girl next to her was already going to sleep. '_She's sick...'_ her mind told herself repeatedly. '_Don't you dare think dirty thoughts!'_ Nanoha's hand on her stomach shifted as her body turned more on its side, ending up with it placed on top of her breast. '_She's sick and asleep… don't think dirty thoughts…_' With a yawn, Nanoha stretched out lightly, unconsciously groping her. '_Oh god, I'm going to have a nose bleed...'_

* * *

Fate was awoken rather unceremoniously an hour later when the girl laying on her suddenly decided to scramble off and crawl to the end of the bed, where she fell into the floor. Coughing sounds made Fate instantly wake up and dart towards her friend who had her hand tightly over her mouth. Her heart melted at the sad scared look Nanoha was giving her. Quickly she helped her stumble into the bathroom, where the poor girl sank to her knees and proceeded to attempt to throw up but not quite succeeding. After almost a minute of panting and coughing Nanoha finally fell back against her room mate and looked up at her with watering eyes. "You okay…?" Fate asked softly as she wiped away the tears.

"No…" The girl closed her eyes and winced as her breath caught in her throat. "It hurts…"

Fate leaned forward and kissed her forehead. "I know sweetie. You'll get better soon, I promise. Think you can go back to bed?"

"I don't know," She replied honestly. "I feel it coming again…" Nanoha whimpered lightly, allowing Fate to help her lean forward again and cough harshly. "Ow…" She sniffed sadly. "I have …nothing left…why am I doing this still?"

The blond rubbed her back soothingly. "Just your body trying to do what it can…okay?" After getting a nod she once again took the girl into her arms and carried her to bed. "You need to get covered, can you sit up for me a moment?" another nod answered her and Nanoha held herself up as promised. A light pink nightshirt was placed over her head and once her arms were threaded through, she allowed herself to fall over onto her back. "Just a moment dear." She looked at her sadly before grabbing the liquid medicine on the night stand and measuring out her dosage. "It's eight now so I'll take my next dose around dinner time…" She spoke to herself as she looked at the small plastic cap/measuring cup. "…Here's to health." She took the medicine quickly, disappointed at how slow the syrup-like substance left the container and into her mouth. Once she swallowed thickly several times the girl coughed and went to the bathroom to drink as much water as she could stand to get the taste out of her mouth. "Grape flavored my ass…"

* * *

Fate looked up as a monitor display appeared to her side, the black screen proudly declaring that Shamal was trying to contact her. The girl set down the book she was reading and stroked Nanoha's hair lightly before 'pushing' the button on the display to accept the call. "Hello Shamal," She greeted her.

"Hello there Fate, how are you doing?" The doctor smiled at the sight of Nanoha laying on the couch with her head on Fate's lap. "And how is my favorite little sick girl?"

"I'm almost twenty," Nanoha muttered out, opening one eye to look up at her friend. "I'm not a little girl anymore, Shamal."

"Aw, but you always came to me for everything! It was so much fun watching you grow up with Fate and Hayate!" Her face fell a little when Nanoha was apparently too weak to tease back. "How are you feeling?"

"Dead," was the simple response.

"She's been dry-heaving all day," Fate informed her. "She refuses to eat anything because she's scared she'll throw it right back up."

"My, that's not good. Nanoha-chan, try to eat something okay?"

"No." She replied against Fate's stomach, curling up.

With a sigh, the girl on the screen crossed her arms. "Can't be helped then. Fate-chan, she'll probably be starving tomorrow sometime so try and take advantage of that to feed her something really nutritious okay? Preferably soup to ease her throat and some type of bread or crackers to help settle her stomach."

"Yes ma'am."

"And you take your medicine as well?" The look on the blonde's face was all the answer she needed. "You'll thank me later. Oh! I talked to Hayate already, and your squad has been given leave for three days, then Fate will take over training until Nanoha is ready to return."

"I'll be there tomorrow," The brown haired girl muttered, half asleep.

Fate gave Shamal a small nervous look. "I'll keep an eye on her so she won't try to go anywhere... She won't let go of me, actually, so it's no problem."

"Oh?"

"Mmhmm," She agreed. "When she sleeps she holds onto me for a while then gets hot and pushes me away but when I get out of the bed, she'll call for me mentally when she wakes up and realizes I'm not there."

"Aw, how sweet!"

The girl's face tinted lightly. "A-anyway…" She didn't think of it like that before.

"Okay, I have other patients to check in on so I'll cut this off here." Shamal gave Fate a break on teasing. "Get better soon Nanoha-chan."

The girl in Fate's lap gave a small hum before closing her eyes again when the monitor cut off. "Fate-chan, I had the weirdest dream just now."

"Oh?" Fate went back to stroking her hair, happy to have Nanoha to talk to. The day was almost over now and the only conversation she's had with her friend was nothing more than random gibberish and sleep talking. "What was it about?"

Nanoha took a slow steady intake of air. "I was caught in a rock-slide on some random planet…I was trapped under the stones and survived for three days off nothing but water brought to me by a lone Mexican jumping bean…"

Fate looked down at her friend a moment before reaching over to the table stand and picking up the medicine she was taking. "What is _in_ this stuff?"

* * *

Groggily Fate helped her friend back to the bed, where they both collapsed down in a heap. The blond shivered as her counter part panted out, a light shine of sweat on her body. They had just returned from another one of Nanoha's sudden sick moments, where she managed to successfully lose the small bit of toast Fate had forced on her a little earlier. "Fate-chan…" She panted out weakly. "I'm hot…"

"The air is on sixty-eight honey… You won't get better if you freeze to death."

"Fate-chaaaaan," Nanoha sniffed. "I don't want to be sick anymore…"

The red eyed girl sleepily pushed herself up and looked at the clock on their nightstand. The digital timer told her that it was currently two in the morning, a whole three hours since their last trip to the bathroom. "Come on sweetheart, get in bed properly and cover up."

Nanoha made a few unintelligent sounds, showing that she was already drifting back off to sleep. She opened her eyes lightly when she felt herself being moved and gave her friend an apologetic look. "Hold me, Fate-chan?" She asked softly when she was properly laying down.

"I thought you were hot?"

"I need a hug…please?"

"Always." Fate moved over close to her and held her friend. "Whenever you need a hug, just open your arms."

"Thank you…" She closed her eyes lightly and cuddled up against the blond. "Ne, Fate-chan?"

"Hmm?"

"I love you."

Fate opened her eyes slowly, giving across the room and running her fingers through the girl's hair. "I love you too, Nanoha-chan." The words made the girl happy, as she was suddenly gripped a little tighter. "Now go to sleep before you start saying weird things."

"Loving Fate isn't weird," She whispered, moving back just enough to tilt her head up. "We're both girls, but that's okay."

"You're sleep talking again, sweetheart." Fate closed her eyes. "Please don't get my hopes up like this."

There was a small silence before Fate suddenly felt herself being kissed. Her eyes snapped open and looked down nervously at the girl who was pulling away lightly. The two gazed at each other again before the blue eyed girl smiled and cuddled back up against her chest. "Good night."

"…Yeah. Good night, Honey."

Nanoha giggled as best she could. "I like that pet name…"

The girl held her sick friend and ran the words over and over in her mind. The smile came to her lips slowly, but she didn't want to resist it. '_She loves me…_' Her mind told her ecstatically. '_Now… If only she'll remember saying it tomorrow…_' The thought made her lose a little of her hope but the lingering taste on her mouth kept her spirits up. '_Wait a minute…_ Suddenly Fate's face looked a little grossed out. '_Why did our first kiss have to be right after she threw up…?_' She wiped her mouth regretfully, trying to get rid of the thought. '_Mou! This isn't fair!_'

* * *

To be continued... 


	2. Chapter 2

My internal alarm clock never failed to wake me, even on my days off. Although I was thankful for not having Bardiche wake me with the annoying beeping sounds, I still was slightly annoyed at the disturbance from my own body. Even though I was forced by my room mate to stay in bed most of the day yesterday, I rarely got any sleep. The medicine Shamal shoved on me made me really sleepy so I didn't so much mind the staying in bed, it was just that Nanoha tossed and turned all the time. Every ten minutes the girl would moan and roll over, sometimes weakly pushing me away for a while before pulling me close again. In all the time we've spent together and shared a bed I had never once tugged the covers or got annoyed with her sleeping habits. Last night, however, I was _so_ close to just giving up and sleeping on the couch. Come to think of it, I was rather comfortable right now. I didn't feel my friend in bed at all, which kind of worried me. My eyes opened slowly as I made myself sit up and look around to confirm that I was, indeed, alone.

**Onyx Days II**

**By: Satashi**

Fate rolled her body out of the bed and hazily made her way to the railing of her bedroom. As she looked out over it into the living room she saw her target sitting on the couch, half dressed. "Nanoha-chan…" The words made the girl look up weakly. "I can't believe you…" The blond made her way down the stairs and over to the couch to where her roommate was. "Get in bed this instant."

"I need to train them…" The blue eyed girl leaned forward, placing her face in her hands and breathing heavily. "I can work…"

"You aren't doing anything but going to sleep." Fate bent over and picked up the girl, carrying her like a princess back to the stairs.

"Fate-chan, I'm better now…" Her head fell against the shoulder it was resting on weakly. "Really…" Her voice broke lightly as she coughed. "Uh oh…"

"Again!?" Fate hurried the rest of the way to the bathroom and rubbed her back while Nanoha had a coughing fit, having nothing left to throw up. "Honey, if you eat something it will settle your stomach, you will stop doing that…"

"I'll just throw it up instead of dry heaving…" She sniffed and sighed out weakly. Moments passed as they waited to see if she was going to relapse but when she didn't seem to, Fate helped her to her feet. "Thank you," She managed to get out lightly before rinsing her mouth out.

Fate frowned lightly at her friend. Already her hair looked lifeless, despite just being washed the day before. On top of this, the shirt she was wearing was crinkled and had a light smell to it from the constant sweating Nanoha seemed to be doing. "You need a shower, it'll make you feel better."

"If you won't let me work, I just want to sleep…"

"The sheets need to be changed too…" Fate rubbed her friend's shoulders. "Come on Honey, take a few minutes now and you'll feel so much better for the rest of the day…?"

"…Okay." She nodded lightly, obviously not really understanding what she just agreed to.

"Here, let me…" Fate undid the nightshirt buttons before taking it off of her friend. The girl started to lean to the side lightly, and eventually had to be braced by Fate before she collapsed onto the floor. "God Nanoha-chan…Maybe I should contact Shamal again…"

"I'll… be fine…"

"You will, but I still worry…" She helped the girl into the shower section of the room. "You're a lot weaker to these viruses than we are, if you're not careful you could really end up hurting yourself."

"…Tough cookie."

"Yes, yes you are." Fate made sure her friend wouldn't topple over before hurrying to the medicine cabinet and getting her friend's pills and her own dose of liquid. "Take these, Hun." She handed the pills over and supervised the swallowing of them. "Good girl." She turned on the water and set the temperature to just a little over warm before drinking her own medication. "Blech…"

"Feels nice…" Nanoha murmured under the spray while sinking down and sitting on the floor.

"See?" Fate looked at her a moment longer before speaking. "Do you want to enjoy that while I change the sheets to the bed?" She received a small nod and quickly left the room to finish the job before her friend deiced to throw up in the shower or something.

When done with the task, her friend was just as she had left her: hugging her knees with her face buried in-between the kneecaps. Her wet hair covered half her body, giving her an almost helpless look. "Hey," she greeted as she kneeled down in front of her.

Nanoha looked up sleepily, eyes glazed. "Hello," was the reply. The girls touched foreheads in an attempt to compare their body temperatures. "Fate-chan, you have pretty eyes…" Nanoha smiled as best she could.

The blond looked a little confused at the sudden compliment, but smiled back none the less. Her mouth opened up to say something in return but found Nanoha once again kissing her. It was a light kiss, their lips barely seeming to touch, but the brown haired girl seemed to be trying the best she could to do it. Fate instantly caved in to her desire and put a hand on the back of her neck, kissing her back fully. When the two pulled away, Nanoha gave her a cute grin. "Fate-chan taste good too."

Blushing, Fate moved away before she gave in to the temptation of kissing the girl once more. '_She's sick,_' Fate reminded herself as she started to lather shampoo into her friend's hair. '_She's not thinking straight, she's on medication, I can't be doing this…_'

Nanoha mumbled out something incoherent as the fingers danced on her head. Ever so slowly the pampering was finished and the water cut off. The two girls made it back to the bed where the sick one instantly crawled under the covers. "Sleep with me?" She wondered instantly as she reached out her hand towards Fate.

"Sorry Nanoha-chan, I need to go shopping." Fate took the offered hand and gave it a small squeeze. "Will you be okay by yourself for a few hours?" She got a disappointed nod but felt her hand be squeezed back none the less.

"Ne, Fate-chan?"

"Yes?"

"Keep calling me pet names, I like those?"

Fate paused a moment to look at her before grinning and letting out a small laugh. "Okay, okay. Well then, sweetheart, do you want anything from town?"

"No thank you," She closed her eyes and cuddled up against her body pillow. "Come back soon please?"

"Of course." The blond nodded at her and even lovingly ruffled her hair before going to get dressed.

* * *

"Fate, you're over reacting." Shamal sighed and rubbed the bridge of her nose. "She's _sick_, of course she'll be out of it, I told you when you left she would be weird to deal with."

"But she seems worse today than she was yesterday!" Fate protested to the floating monitor in front of her as she drove. "She's been throwing up every few hours and can't even get out of bed by herself, and she's acting strange."

"Strange how?"

A dark blush came to her cheeks. "Um, she's saying weird things."

"Such as."

Fate coughed. "Hey, Shamal?"

"Yes?"

"Just out of curiosity, would Nanoha-chan do anything completely random? Say if Yuuno came over and put her forehead against hers to check her temperature… would she kiss him just because his face was close?"

Shamal looked at her blankly before having a laughing fit. "No! No, no, why on earth would she do that? Kissing someone just because they're close, no." She tried to control her giggling. "She wouldn't do anything like that unless she wanted to."

'_Wanted to…_' Fate looked off to the side. '_She wanted to kiss me…_'

"Fate?"

"Oh!" She looked back towards Shamal. "I have to go now, thank you for listening." The girl cut off the display and parked her car at the grocery store on the base. '_Calm down, Fate. You're acting like a junior high school girl!_' The car door opened and she climbed outside. '_I'm not going to get all giddy over this…_' The walk to the entrance was made briskly, a smile on her lips. '_Maybe I should get her a get well teddy bear or something._'

As the woman walked down the halls of the store her mind pondered just what she should make for lunch and dinner. Several ideas passed through her head, each one getting shot down since the girl probably wouldn't be able to eat any of it in her current condition. "How about curry?" A voice suggested happily, making Fate blink. Curry would be the last thing she'd want to feed a sick girl.

"It's not too much trouble?" Elio's voice came up next and Fate paused where she was, leaning over to look around the end of the isle. The two Lightning squad members were standing together talking. The male of the group was holding a shopping basket while his counter part was putting things in it while thinking. "You really don't have to…"

"You bought me breakfast, the least I can do is make you dinner," Carol replied happily as she gripped his arm with one hand lightly and lead him away. "Everyone shares a room but us, so isn't this much better than being alone?"

"Y-yeah…"

Fate couldn't keep the happy look off her face even if she wanted to. '_How sweet!_' her mind thought as she walked away from them, not wanting to interrupt their moment. '_My little boy has his first dinner date!_'

* * *

"I'm home," Fate greeted the empty living room as she opened the door and put the groceries down in the kitchen. The items were unloaded and stocked quickly before the girl grabbed the medium sized stuff animal she bought and went to the shared bedroom. "Nanoha-chan?" The sick girl wasn't in bed so she walked over to the bathroom, which had the door open. "Honey?" Looking in, Fate let out a startled gasp and dropped the bear. "Nanoha! What's wrong!?" she slid to a stop next to the girl laying down on the floor and raised her top half up to hold it. "Say something?"

"Ughnnn…" The girl weakly opened her eyes and blinked at Fate. "Welcome…back…"

"Why are you in the floor? Did you fall?" Fate moved the hair from her face. "Did you get hurt?"

"No…" Nanoha's head fell against her shoulder and she closed her eyes. "I threw up and couldn't move so I just went to sleep here…."

"Oh my god…" The words stuck Fate hard, making slight tears come to her eyes. '_And I was thinking about spending time with her happily… And she's so sick she can't even get to the bed..._' Sniffing slightly, Fate lifted her up and carried her to the bed. "I'm sorry…"

"For what…?" She looked relieved to be laying down again comfortably.

"For being so self-centered." Fate gripped one of her hands with both of hers. "I'm so sorry…" Gently she brought the hand she was holding to her lips and kissed it. "I'll take really good care of you for now on, no matter what okay? Please give me another chance?"

"Don't understand…" She looked like she was already going back to sleep.

"Don't worry…" Fate wiped her eyes, chest slightly in pain still. "I won't get distracted again, I'm here to make you better. Can I get you anything? A drink? Want something to eat? Are you hot, cold?"

"Rub my back?" Nanoha opened one eye sleepily. "Please?"

"Of course!" Fate instantly moved to straddle her friend's waist since she was lying on her stomach. "I'll rub it until you are content." At once her hand went to work, gently sliding over her back before pressing down just hard enough to make the sick girl moan out in pleasure. "I'll do your arms and legs too, okay?"

"Mmnn…" Time went by quickly for the sick girl, staying in a stage of being half asleep but also half awake at the same time. Her body felt relaxed and after almost a complete hour of being rubbed she finally shifted so Fate would get off of her and laid on her back happily. "Feel great now…"

"Do you?" Fate took turns rubbing her wrist to try and ease the sore muscles there. "You need to eat something, do you think you can? I can make you whatever you want?"

"Right now I feel like I could eat an entire cow…"

The blond couldn't help but laugh lightly. "That's my girl. An entire cow sounds good right now, but how about something a little easier on your stomach?"

"A sandwich?" Nanoha sat up but found herself being pushed back down gently. "Mou, I want to get out of bed now."

"I know you feel pretty good right now but you're still sick." She smiled apologetically. "You know how it is, you think you're great one moment then you suddenly collapse because you pushed yourself." Fate brought the covers back up to her chest. "Please stay in bed?"

"…Okay." She smiled. "If you want me to."

"I do," Fate agreed softly. "I'll bring you some food so just take it easy." She picked up the earlier disregarded stuffed animal and gave it to her. "Here, I got this for you."

Nanoha smiled and took the offered gift. "Thank you, it's cute." She hugged it to herself. "I'll name it Etaf."

"Etaf?" The blond gave her an amused look. "Your medicine must be kicking in again."

"Just think about it," Nanoha yawned lightly and curled up with her new cuddle toy. "I'll be right here."

* * *

"I'm sorry," Nanoha whispered lightly as Fate laid her back in bed. "So sorry…"

"It's okay… Will you be fine now?"

"Sorry…"

"Shush." Fate tucked her in. "I'm going to take a shower now so rest up okay?" Nanoha gave her another scared look. "Really. I shouldn't have made you eat so much. Go to sleep." Leaning over, Fate kissed her forehead before going back to the bathroom and tossing a towel on the floor. Stripping quickly, Fate went into the shower and turned on the spray. '_I needed to do laundry anyway…_' The girl shivered.

* * *

Fate rolled over in bed and reached out to the nightstand lazily. '_…Nine already_?_' _She moaned lightly and rubbed her temples. '_My head is killing me…_' Slowly she made her way out of bed and stumbled over to the bathroom to raid her medicine cabinet. The dark liquid was drunk bitterly before being followed by two tablets for her head. '_Why am I so tired?_' The way downstairs was trekked hazily. There was just enough light still shining in to give her a visible area without flipping the switch and she used it to raid the pantry for some cookies. The girl leaned against the counter and nibbled slowly, trying to rid herself of the medicine flavor. Once she realized the jar was almost half gone she made herself stop snacking and place the lid back on before heading back upstairs and crawling into bed.

"Fate-chan…" Nanoha sleepily looked at her. "Where did you go?"

"Got a cookie," She replied in a whisper. "Did I wake you?"

"No," She shook her head against the pillow. "Just wondering." Nanoha lifted her arm up, requesting a hug. Once received, she kept the hold and buried herself against Fate's chest after sinking a little lower into the covers. "I had another dream…"

"What about?" Fate stroked her hair to try and sooth her.

"I was in a cake factory…" Her words started to drift off as she got comfortable. "A bunch of blueberries were chasing me, and threw me in batter when I was caught." A yawn interrupted the story briefly. "An' they tried to turn me into a muffin."

"I see." Fate smiled, very much amused. "Did you get cooked?"

"Nuh uh," She shook her head lightly, making Fate's chest itch slightly from her hair. "I got away, but they yelled at me."

"Aw," She cooed sympathetically. "What did they say?"

"I don't know; I couldn't understand them… They all had French accents."

Fate smiled happily. "Don't worry, I'll protect you from the French blueberries."

"Really?" Nanoha looked up at her, obviously more asleep than awake. "Promise?"

"Promise."

"Good," She looked content now and closed her eyes. "Because I don't want to be eaten." The brown haired girl got comfortable and gripped Fate's shirt lightly to be sure she wouldn't go anywhere. "But if Fate wanted to eat my muffin, I'd let her."

"Thank you," She kissed her hair, ignoring how wrong that just sounded. "Sweet dreams."

* * *

Fate awoke next to the now familiar feeling of Nanoha weakly pushing at her. The blond looked over to the side and watched Nanoha move away from her, still asleep. Now with almost two feet between them, she stretched out groggily. Deciding to go back to sleep, she closed her eyes and swallowed thickly, ignoring the tickling feeling in the back of her throat. Moments passed before a soft beeping sound made her look back up. A display hung over her, showing Shamal's name. "Computer, answer." She muttered, too tired to reach up and activate it by 'touch'. "Hey Shamal."

"You're still in bed?" she greeted, amazed.

"What time is it?"

"Almost eleven."

"Huh?" Fate looked to the side, noticing that the storm didn't seem to be over. Dark clouds covered the sky, blocking the sunlight. "Ugh, I'm exhausted…"

"Then I won't keep you long. Have you been taking your medicine?"

"Yes, and so has Nanoha."

"How's her temperature?"

Fate lazily moved one hand over to feel of her friend's neck. "Hot."

"And yours?"

The girl put her hand on her own neck. "I'm a little warm too actually… maybe I should turn the air conditioner up a little…" Fate moved to get out of bed but only managed to take two steps before pausing and giving Shamal a worried look. Before the doctor could ask, Fate ran across the room and into the bathroom, where she quickly started rinsing her mouth out.

"Fate, are you okay?" Shamal suddenly got serious and lost her happy go lucky expression.

"I…I think so." She panted a moment, looking at herself in the mirror. "I'm a little pale…" Quickly she opened the cabinet and drank the medicine straight form the bottle, frowning at the taste. "I slept almost twelve hours, why am I so tired…?"

"Fate, come to my office okay? I want to give you a brief check up."

At first the girl looked like she was going to oppose, but a sudden weird feeling in her stomach made her reconsider. "Okay, I'll be in shortly."

* * *

"Just as I thought..." Shamal sighed sadly. "Fever, clammy skin, dilated eyes, tiredness, blood pressure is off… You're sick."

"I'm not sick," she protested stubbornly. "I took the medicine just like you said, if anything I took it more than I needed to."

"Which is why I'm so confused…You should be absolutely fine, even if you're staying in the same room with her… Even if you're in the same bed you were spaced apart more than enough."

"She normally clings on me,"

"Wait, what?" Shamal blinked.

"Nanoha curls up on me when she sleeps."

"So when you said she wouldn't let go of you the other day, you meant she was _on_ you and not just, say, holding your hand or laying on your lap?"

Fate suddenly found herself nervous. "She kept her face close to mine..."

Shamal pieced things together rather quickly after hearing that. "Oh my word, when you asked me that earlier it was because she kissed you didn't she?" she received a small nod. "Fate I'm really happy that you two like each other, you make a great couple, but kissing someone who has the flu and letting them breath on your face will get you sick no matter what medicine you have…"

The blond leaned forward and sighed. "Great. Just great. I already take three days off to take care of Nanoha, now I'll be out for another four probably… Nanoha still can't even get out of bed for more than ten minutes before wanting to lay down again…"

"I'll contact Chrono and see if I can't get Yuuno to come instruct the members of your squad, at least get them some nice battle formations. For now I want both of you to stay in bed, drink lots of liquids, and Fate please for the love of god, don't be kissing each other until you're well again okay?"

"…Yes ma'am." She blushed lightly. "I'll take real good care of her, I promise."

"Take care of _yourself_ too." She went to a cabinet and took out a large bottle and popped the cap on it. "Take two of these twice a day." She placed the pills into a smaller bottle and scribbled on the label. "Throw away the liquid you have, it won't be useful anymore."

"Right. Thank you." Fate took the offered bottle and gave her an apologetic look. "Sorry about this."

"Just take care of yourselves. Leave your romance until you're well enough to enjoy it."

"…Yes ma'am."

* * *

To be continued.

Fun Fact:

"Etaf" is "Fate" spelled backwards.


	3. Chapter 3

I didn't really mind the rain, in fact I rather enjoyed it. The dark clouds over my head did nothing to bring down my mood as I skated along the sidewalks. Hayate was so kind to give me special permission to roller blade on the base grounds while not in training; I would have to thank her again for it next time I saw her. My pace picked up when I spotted my pig tailed counter part up ahead of me. With a grin I skated up behind her and put my arm over her shoulder as I slowed down. At first she protested fiercely to the contact but after looking around a moment desperately she reluctantly allowed me to keep my arm there. Even after all this time she was still too shy to show her emotions in public, but it didn't bother me that much. I liked her a lot and if she wasn't ready to go public with her sexuality then I could wait for her. I also looked around a moment to double check everything before leaning over and giving her a quick peck to the cheek before I skated ahead a little bit.

**Onyx Days III**

**By: Satashi**

"Subaru!" Tia blushed quickly. "Don't do that!"

"I made sure nobody was looking," She countered happily as she skated backwards. "Don't worry!"

With that fact remaining solid, she couldn't find any other reason to protest the display of affection. "Still… wait till we're in our room or something…"

"Oh?" Subaru stopped skating and allowed her to catch up. "Wait till we're alone in our room? How bold!"

"N-not like that!" Tia bopped her girlfriend on the head, face turning red. "You idiot!"

"Mou, you didn't have to hit me!"

"…Sorry." She looked away and crossed her arms. "What are you doing out here?"

"Going to check up on Nanoha-san, you?"

"Going to see why Fate hasn't contacted any of us yet."

"Doesn't she still have today on leave?" Subaru pondered aloud as the two walked into the mess hall on the lower floor of the residential area.

"Yes, but she still should have told us what to expect tomorrow." Tia pressed the button to go to the sixth floor in the elevator and waited patiently for it to bring them up. "I hope they don't get upset we're dropping by so suddenly."

"Everyone needs a get well party!" Subaru grinned happily, holding up her fist in a pose. "A little cheerleading will fix anyone right up."

"Everyone isn't so head strong as to beat off the flu with will power alone like you are." Tia walked out the door, leaving Subaru to ponder if that was an insult or a compliment. The trek to their room was made quickly and the reddish-orange haired girl pushed the com button next to the entrance.

"…Who is it?" Fate's horse voice asked after a few moments of silence.

Tia looked over at Subaru a moment before answering. "Tia and Subaru, ma'am"

The com was silent a moment longer before Fate's voice came back up, this time sounding a little better. "Come in."

Walking past the now open door, the two looked around the room in appreciation. "Nice place," Subaru thought aloud. "I think it every time we come here."

"Have to expect it from two of the three aces of the entire local area base…"

"Hello," Fate greeted them, walking down the stairs and turning on the lights in the living room. She had finger combed her hair lightly but it was still evident that she had just gotten out of bed by the fact that she was in pajamas. "What brings you two here on your day off?"

"We came to see if Nanoha-san was doing any better." Subaru replied happily as her rollerblades vanished underneath her to allow the girl to stand properly in their home.

"She's asleep right now," Fate smiled at them. "But she hasn't thrown up yet today so I think it's a very good improvement." She left out the fact that the girl hasn't even been awake more than five minutes that day as well.

"Fate-san... Um, sorry for saying so but… you don't really look well today." Tia gave her superior an apologetic look.

"I'm not, unfortunately." The blond sighed, rubbing the bridge of her nose. "Nanoha-chan decided to share with me so now I have the flu as well."

"Ouch," the girls both winced at the same time. "Well then," Subaru continued, ignoring the amused look on Fate since they had just said the same thing at the same time. "Where should we report to tomorrow?"

"Yuuno Scrya will be here to teach you battle formations and tactical advice."

"Sorry, Ma'am," Tia felt her cheeks color a little. "…Who is he?"

Fate smiled. "Chief librarian of the infinite library and rune explorer. All of our information on lost logia is sent to him before the main headquarters." She decided to make her team appreciate the ferret a little bit more so she continued. "He's also the reason Nanoha-chan and I met." A flashback made her lips twitch up into a smile. "Although he was really annoying to me at that time…"

"I…see…" Subaru blinked. "Well, okay. We will all report to the training field at the normal time then?" She received a nod. "In that case we should probably go so you can rest up."

"Thank you for stopping by," Fate walked them to the door. "I'll be sure to tell Nanoha-chan as soon as she wakes up."

"Please do," Tia saluted her before leaving the room. Subaru followed shortly after and the two took the elevator down to the floor beneath them. "Well, I guess we should go to bed at the usual time then." She waved her hand across the scanner to unlock their room.

"Yeah." Subaru gripped Mach Caliber in her hand a moment, letting the shoes on her feet vanish. "What do you want to do for the rest of the day? It will probably rain soon so we need to stay in."

Tia looked out their window up at the black sky. "Spring showers bring May flowers I guess…" Looking back over at her room-mate, she shrugged before falling onto her bed. "I guess we can just rest."

"Ehhh? That's boring!" Subaru walked over to her and put her hands on her hips. "Let's do _something_!"

"Like what?" Tia laid on her bed, closed her eyes, and put her hands behind her head.

"…Oh I don't know…" Subaru's voice suddenly became lighter and more playful.

Tia found her bed shift lightly and when she opened her eyes she found the blue haired girl crawling on top of her with a happy smile on her face. "Su-Subaru?" She stammered out, blushing. "Get off me…"

"Don't wanna…" She gripped the hands that moved to push her off and interlaced their fingers before pinning them above the head of the girl beneath her.

Tia looked at her a moment before she realized just what was going through her girlfriend's mind. "It's still day time…"

"It doesn't matter," She leaned down and started kissing her neck.

"Subaru…" She tried to move her hands but found them still pinned. "You're embarrassing me…"

"I'm sorry, Tia-chan." She cooed softly, nibbling on the girl's earlobe. "Should I stop?"

"…No…" She embraced their hands together and moved to try and kiss her.

"Hey… call me that again?" Subaru avoided her lips and instead went back to her shoulder, nipping lightly at her.

"Wha-what?" Tia flushed. "That's embarrassing…"

"It's okay," She insisted, moving up to suck on the soft spot on her neck and leaving a small hickey there.

"Kiss me…" The reddish-orange haired girl tried once again to move so their lips would touch, disappointed when her girlfriend moved again. "Stop teasing me…"

"Then say it?" Subaru touched their foreheads together.

"Mou…" The girl looked at her a moment longer before moving her eyes away and letting her cheeks get darker. "Kiss me…Su-chan?" The pet name got a happy response and soon she found her lover's lips on top of hers. Moments passed slowly as the two made out, hands shyly exploring each other's bodies. Subaru was the first to make the most daring approach, running her hand along Tia's thigh and allowing her fingers to slip under her miniskirt to touch the light fabric of her panties. "Be gentle…" she got a light giggle in reply before her lips were claimed in a soft kiss once more.

* * *

"Nggghnn…" Nanoha moaned out and rolled on her back. "I don't want to be in bed anymore…"

"Right now I don't want to be anywhere _but_ bed," Fate replied sleepily as she opened her eyes and looked at her friend. "How do you feel?"

"Like hell," Nanoha moved over to lay on Fate's chest but found the girl stopping her before she could. "No?"

"Not right now," Fate shook her head and brought one hand up to rub her forehead. "I don't feel so hot…"

"…Did I get you sick?" Her voice was a little scared, but she obviously already knew the answer.

"I got myself sick," The blond replied as she reached out to hold hands. "I shouldn't have kissed you."

"We kissed?" Nanoha held her friend's hand with one of hers and used her other to rub her eyes. "…Oh yeah, we did… twice. I'm sorry."

"Don't apologize," Fate coughed a little. "It was worth it." She knew she had just admitted her feelings to the girl but under the medication she was on and the fever she currently had, she didn't really mind.

"All the same, I'm sorry." She crawled over to Fate once again and hugged her. "I hope you don't get it as bad as I do…"

"I won't, don't worry." Fate accepted the hug and allowed Nanoha to put her back against her front. "I don't stay sick long at all, three days and I'll be good as new." She laid an arm over the girl's waist and cuddled. "I'll still take care of you, so whatever you want, just ask okay?"

"But…"

"No buts…" Fate took a steadying breath and ignored her sweating body trying to demand her to push Nanoha away so she could cool off. "Nanoha is mine; I'll take care of her."

The girl didn't reply at first, just simply rubbed the hand that was around her. Finally after a minute or two she brought the hand up to her mouth and kissed the palm. "Okay. I'm yours, Fate-chan. Please take care of me."

"Always."

"And let me take care of you too."

"Sure."

"And in time, let me love you?"

"Only if you let me love you too."

"Always," Nanoha looked at the palm in front of her and gave another gentle kiss on it before bringing it to her chest and placing it over her heart. "…Always, and forever."

* * *

Elio looked around while sitting at the training field. Wind blew around him lightly, making the hot humid air more tolerable. Already he had ran a mile that morning to loosen up his muscles and just finished up a few more stretches to ensure that he would be all right after a few days off of training. Currently he was alone, but he didn't mind since he was early. The sun was just barely coming up now, casting an orange glow around him while he waited. "You're up early, huh?" a voice made him turn around quickly.

"…Yuuno-san!" Elio saluted him promptly.

"Wow, you've gotten big." Yuuno ruffled the boy's hair. "Last time I saw you, you were this tall!" He held his hand at about Elio's shoulder level. "You've grown quite a bit."

"I've gotten a lot stronger too," He added in to the compliments. "I'll show you once Fate gets here."

"She won't be coming," He informed with a lopsided smile. "Fate got sick along with Nanoha, so they called me in."

Elio blinked. "Oh. Okay then, you're going to be training us?"

"Well, I'm not a combat mage, so there's nothing I can train you on in battle. I can, however, improve what you already know." Yuuno reached into his shirt and pulled out Raising Heart. "I already stopped by Nanoha's loft and picked up R.H. to record the information… want to get started while we wait for the others?"

"Sir!" Elio saluted.

"Well then…Raising Heart Excelion!" Yuuno flicked the gem into the air and held out his hands. "Change user: Yuuno Scrya!"

"User accepted." Raising Heart confirmed as it floated in the air. "Please update Barrier Jacket and Device." Yuuno closed his eyes a moment. "…Accepted."

Yuuno's clothes shattered around him, flaring his long hair out behind him as it did so. In a flash, the boy was given something akin to blue jeans, hanging loose around his legs. Brown hiking shoes graced his feet, amplified by sharp angle silver armor pieces. Moving up his body, the magic engulfed his chest and revealed a dark green tank top. More armor appeared in the form of a jean jacket that only came down to mid-stomach but covered his arms to the wrist, where they were lined in a matching silver. As the transformation ended, Raising Heart started to change as well, moving the materials available to form herself into a thick book, which was taken by the male. "Right." Yuuno looked at his Barrier Jacket a moment to get the feel of it. "Not to shabby for a spur of the moment decision." The book in his hand opened up almost to the middle. "Let's see here… Elio Mondial… Got you." He closed the book and grinned. "I now know all of the data that your device has stored.

"You read all that information already!?"

"I'm a librarian," He tapped his temple. "Sucking information up quickly is what I live for. Now," He smiled and held up a small silver bell and jingled it. "Your specialty is speed, right? Then your mission is to get this bell from me by any means possible."

"You're that fast!?"

"Oh no!" Yuuno laughed. "You're way faster than me probably." His lips stayed in a smile. "What I want you to learn from this is that speed isn't everything… there are things you must know that will allow someone even slower than you to move in a way where you can't beat them." Several displays appeared around them and Yuuno quickly made the imitation city appear behind them. "Shall we?"

Elio held up his hand and summoned forth Strada. "Ready!"

* * *

"Mou, we're late!" Tia cried out desperately as they ran down the sidewalk towards the training field. "And with a new teacher too! Subaru, I'm blaming you for this!"

"You're the one who told me to be gentle!" She countered as she glided next to her friend.

"I said gentle, not six hours! I can't believe we overslept!"

"Ahh! They've already started!" The two girls ran faster, trying to get to the field before anymore time slipped by them.

"Good morning," Caro greeted them nervously. "This is our instructor for the next few days," She pointed upwards to the monitor that showed Yuuno reading the book form of Raising Heart while dodging Elio's attacks as if they were nothing. "Elio seems to be targeting the small silver bell on Instructor Yuuno's belt."

"Oh wow," Subaru gasped out, amazed at how easily her squad member was being toyed with. "What is he an S, S+ mage?"

"AA," Caro replied as she brought up a display about Yuuno. "He is a support mage so he's not the best for individual combat. Elio-kun is faster than him but for some reason…" She motioned back to the battle.

Elio paused his onslaught and panted, glaring at the man in front of him who had one hand in his pocket while casually reading the remodeled Raising Heart. '_Is it his device?'_ he pondered while catching his breath. '_That's Nanoha-san's weapon but he originally had it…Maybe he can use powers on it that Nanoha-san can't?... No, that's not it… if anything he isn't even using it at twenty percent of its power… Then what is it? His own power?'_

"Tired?" Yuuno looked up from reading. "Want to call it quits?"

"No!" Elio dashed forward again. '_The book has all my information on it so he has to be using it to predict my moves!_' He slung his spear quickly and stabbed forward at an alarming speed. The long haired male simply danced to the side and moved his body around the thrust. Elio's fingertips almost reached towards the man's waist but found him quickly taking to the air to avoid the contact. "He can even fly…"

"Elio!" Yuuno called down happily at him. "What did I tell you at the beginning of all this?"

The red head though about it. "Even if an opponent is slower, they can still beat my best moves…What does it mean!?" Elio gripped his spear tighter. '_That's it!_' His eyes glared back up at his target. '_He's using tactical strategies against me! Just like me once I see an attack once, I won't fall for it again… he's seen countless battles alongside Nanoha and in text books!'_

Yuuno grinned at him. '_He's figuring it out… I'll have to be careful from now on or I'll lose my bell._'

'_Something I've never done… something I've never done…_' His eyes darted around. '_There!_' Dashing forward he ran alongside the building. "Sonic move!" His feet blurred and the world seemed to freeze around him, allowing the boy to run up the side of the building.

"Seen it," Yuuno whispered to himself while flying to the side. "You can't jump this far."

"Wing road!" Elio kicked off the building. '_I'm moving too fast for the road to form so I'll have to…_' He smirked at Yuuno's surprised expression. The blue magic formed beneath him, moving much too slow for him to run along. When his feet landed against it, he immediately jumped again. "New Skill!" He exclaimed, reaching up to grab his prize. "Double jump!"

The silver bell jingled against his hand just a moment before he gripped it and tugged. Yuuno grabbed the boy along the waist and caught him next, laughing as they spun form the force of it. "And how were you planning on landing?" He mused, looking at the building right in front of him.

"Eh!? Um…" He flushed, not even thinking about it. "Rebound off the wall and fall several stories?"

"Sounds painful." Yuuno flew over to the observation deck where the others were waiting. "Good morning," He greeted, setting his friend down and saluting the other three. "My name is Yuuno Scrya, I'll be your instructor for tactical strategies until Nanoha or Fate can pick back up. Maybe Vita if she comes back from her mission." He looked down at Caro, who immediately saluted him. "Caro-san, I trust you learned something from watching?" He got a nod so he turned his attention to the two older members. "And you two, why were you late?"

"H-how did you know!?" Subaru blurted out, getting pinched by Tia to calm her outburst.

"Sorry, sir!" Tia saluted.

"Okay, you two." He held up Raising Heart and let it glow a moment before looking down and flipping through the pages at an incredible speed. "Got it. You two will come at me together. The goal is to land a solid hit on me. Be warned, I will fight back this time."

"Sir!"

* * *

Nanoha looked up from her place lying on the couch when Fate sat down in front of her. The girl placed two bowls of soup on the coffee table and pulled it closer to them. "Thanks," She managed out as she also slid down to the floor.

"Sorry it's not home made, but it's the best I could do." Fate coughed a little and rubbed her throat. "Does your throat hurt really badly?"

"I got used to it after dry heaving all day." Nanoha sat by her friend an took her hand, pleased to find out that since she was left handed they could still eat properly while continuing the small act of affection. "How are you feeling?"

"Ugh, it's only still just hitting me and I want to curl up and die." She sniffed and coughed again. "I don't feel sick to my stomach as much as my head wants to explode…"

"Aw, there-there." Nanoha squeezed her hand gently. "A few days and we'll be good as new."

"And when we're better what should we do?"

"Fiery love-love."

Fate coughed while trying to eat a spoonful of soup and had to wipe her mouth off before looking over at her. "Nanoha-chan!"

She smiled. "I got my sense of humor back already."

"Mou…" Fate looked down.

"Get your hopes up?" Nanoha leaned over against her playfully.

"Maybe," Fate smiled back at her, not really caring if she admitted it or not anymore.

The brown haired girl leaned over more, making Fate tip over onto the floor. "The soup needs to cool down…"

"It does," She agreed, wrapping her arms around her girlfriend's neck. "We're both sick anyway…?"

"Yes we are…" Leaning over, Nanoha began to kiss her sweetly.

Five minutes into the activity Nanoha pulled back and sat up, panting heavily and holding a hand to her chest. "Okay… Got to…. Stop….Before I … Throw up again…" She looked at her with regret. "Sorry Fate-chan… I'm getting too hot…"

"It's okay…" Fate sat up as well and fixed her shirt. "I couldn't breathe either…" She sniffed heavily.

"Oh gross, I thought that was slobber…" Nanoha wiped her face off on her shirt sleeve.

"Mou, don't say that!" Fate blushed darkly. "At least I didn't throw up on you."

"You said you'd never bring that up again!" Nanoha pouted at her. "I felt really,_ really_ bad!"

The two girls looked at each other a moment before slowly breaking into light laughter. "Ow…" Fate giggled, holding her head. "Don't make me laugh, it hurts…"

"Sorry Fate-chan." Nanoha waited her them both to calm down before going back to her soup and sipping it. "Mmmm, just the right time to eat it."

"How do you think our squad is doing?" Fate pondered aloud as she drank some water.

"Yuuno-kun came by when you were asleep and got Raising Heart from me, he said he was just going to try and make them cover their weaknesses."

"I see," Fate propped herself up by placing her cheek against her hand and leaning on the table. "I wonder how they're doing right now?"

"Yuuno probably has his nose stuck in a book," Nanoha giggled to herself.

* * *

Yuuno smiled to himself as he flew backwards in the air from the force of the blast that had just collided with the front of his barrier. Just as he suspected, a follow up came from the side, where Tia was aiming her dual pistols at him. '_Outstanding teamwork,_' he mused while lifting his fingers to activate some more magic. '_There are only a few openings I see that need to be exploited…_'

Tia gasped when small green chains erupted from the ground around her, instantly gripping her body. Before she knew what was happening her pistols were robbed from her and she was hung in the air behind Yuuno. "Well now," Yuuno called out to Subaru, who was looking dumbstruck. "I have your partner, now what?"

"_Tia, can you break free?_" Subaru narrowed her eyes and waited a moment. "_Tia?_"

"Telepathy won't work," The blond man informed the two as he hovered in the air. "I've placed a shield around her."

"That's cheap!" Tia accused as she struggled. Moments passed before she cried out in pain. "Hey, what is this!?"

"Black Vice," Yuuno informed. "The more you struggle the harder you will be gripped. If you move recklessly you will end up suffocating yourself."

"That's a little much, don't you think?" Subaru shouted out angrily at the man. "Even Nanoha-san isn't this brutal!"

"Then you better land a blow on me before she makes the binds too tight then, huh?" Yuuno smirked at her. '_Your temper is your main problem,_' he mused as the girls took a moment to soak in the situation. '_There's no way I'd let them really get hurt, but as long as she doesn't realize this I'll be able to make her really pissed off…and then,_' He looked over at Tia, who was carefully testing the binding power of the chains. '_It'll be up to her._'

"Let her go!" Subaru screamed, forming her wing road and engaging once again.

"Make me!" Yuuno shifted all of his shields directly in front of him, smirking. Subaru punched the first shield as hard as she could, loaded two cartridges and made the magic circle flicker under the stress. Before it broke completely Yuuno thrust his hand forward, making all of his shields slam into one and launch the girl backwards. "That all you have!?" He taunted with a laugh. The words worked liked he had hoped and the girl yelled out again, once more charging.

'_This isn't going to work,_' Tia thought to herself, looking around. '_These chains tighten even if I flinch…at this rate I'll be crushed…'_ Her eyes watched her partner cough out after being slammed through a building. Once more she launched forward, blasting Yuuno's shields with everything she had. '_Subaru, you idiot! There's no way you can break through even one of those, let alone all of them! That bastard has probably five shields all focused... wait!'_ Her mouth dropped lightly. It was as clear as day what was going on from her angle but knew that Subaru was too preoccupied to notice it. Yuuno had all of his shields directly in front of him, making a clear half sphere of complete immunity in front of his body. "Subaru!"

"Kinda busy!" She replied harshly, kicking and punching the shields only to be thrown back again and slide down her wing road.

"You idiot, listen to me! He has-!" Her words caught in her throat when Yuuno's eyes met hers and one of his shields flashed around to cover his back. When she didn't say anything else, the shield went back to the front. '_He's doing it on purpose…_' Tia swallowed thickly as her partner continued to go all out, burning with a fire from Yuuno's constant taunting. '_He's trying to encourage us to make the right move… But How…_'

Subaru spit out a little blood from the cut on her lip and glared. "Stop hiding behind those shields and fight me!"

"But I like my shields," he protested, slipping one hand in his pocket and bringing up a book in his other.

'_What's that?_' Subaru instantly got defensive. '_An arcane tome? An ancient magical relic? A spell book!? Raising Heart?!'_

"This?" Yuuno looked at her as if he could read her thoughts. "This is just a book… I want to see how it ends." He went back to reading.

"You… Pay attention to me!" Subaru once again skated up the wing road and roared, blasting the shield with her revolver knuckle and finally making it weak enough to break. Once through, she punched again, getting shot back harshly.

"Reflect shield," Yuuno mused, turning a page. "Better be careful."

Tia swallowed. '_She can't take much more…_' Her eyes closed as she thought a moment. '_Her anger is making her only see what's in front of her and not what's around her…_' Her eyes opened quickly as an idea flew through her head. "Subaru!"

"Yeah!?"

Tia saw Yuuno's ear twitch lightly. "You can't see the forest because of all the trees!" She moved slightly, wincing as the chains tightened.

"…_What_!?" She gaped at her.

Tia watched Yuuno a moment, but his attention went back to the book when he decided that those words were acceptable to him. "You can't see the forest because of all the trees!" She repeated the advice, adding in a wink to show that she meant it at something more than face value.

'_What does she mean…?_' Subaru skated in front of the man slowly. '_If I see the trees then I obviously see the forest…So how could the trees keep me from seeing it…?_' Just to make sure Yuuno was still serious she shot a weak magical blast at him and dodged it when it was reflected back. '_Trees… Trees…His barriers! They're the trees! So what's the forest…?_' Her eyes scanned the area, finally resting on the windows of an office building. The sun's light made them all slightly white, reflecting the area around them and giving her a clean view of her opponent. '_That's it! I couldn't see the barrier's range because all I could see were the barriers! They're only covering his front!'_ Her lips twisted up into a smile. "Load cartridge!"

Yuuno smiled to himself as the attack against him was charged up. "Divine…!" Subaru reared back her fist. "Buster!" She launched the attack as close as she dared since the range was relatively short. The attack shot underneath the man and Subaru gripped her fist, concentrating hard. With a sharp tug, she ripped her hand backwards, making the attack change directions and fly towards Yuuno's back. A flash of light blinded them all for a moment and when it cleared, Yuuno was still where he stood, only now his hair was flowing loosely around him, ponytail holder decimated.

"Match over," He admitted, recalling his binds holding Tia and letting Subaru catch her. "Good job!"

"You okay Tia?" Subaru whispered softly down at her friend, looking at the slight red lines across her exposed skin.

"Yeah, fine." She hopped from her arms and onto the wing road, looking at Yuuno as he flew towards them. "What was the point of all this?"

"You," he pointed at Subaru. "Have a temper that blinds you to things that others can see. Although you're plenty powerful, sometimes you need to take a breath and calm down. Your leaders won't always be able to tell you what to do, and when they do they will use a type of code that you will need to figure out on your own, lest your opponents realize their mistake."

"I see," Subaru nodded.

"And you, Tia." Yuuno looked over at the other girl. "Don't rely enough on other people. The marks on your body are light right now, but if it was, say, Caro out there instead of Subaru, I'm willing to bet you'd be pretty badly bruised right now." He held out his hand and started to treat the wounds the two had received. "If you don't stop and admit to yourself that you need someone else, they will be gone before you know it and you'll be alone to always wonder what happened. Your pride blinds _you_ to accept that you aren't perfect, that it's okay to open up to someone and let them be there for you." He smiled. "I chose that bind to try and make you realize that sometimes you _do_ need others to help you."

"…Okay," Tia looked over at Subaru, who was too interested in Yuuno's healing ability to return the glance.

"That concludes today's lesson" Yuuno told the group as they all landed on the observation deck.

"But what about Caro?" Elio asked, looking over at his pink haired counter part. "Are you not going to do anything with her?"

"Caro's training started the moment she got here," Yuuno informed him with a grin. "Caro, did you learn a lot?"

"Yes sir!" She nodded. "Can I ask you about a few of them later? The binding magic was too powerful for me to break down."

"Of course," The older male grinned. "Besides that, did you manage to dissect my spells? Think you will be able to cast them?"

"Yes sir!" She saluted him.

"I want each of you to think about what you learned today and be prepare a counter strategy and a type of coding that only you know incase it ever happens again."

"You mean we're not going to practice again later today?" Caro asked, disappointed.

"I'm a librarian, not a fighter," He reminded them. "I want you to know yourselves and your weaknesses, through that you will become stronger than any physical training will ever give you. Dismissed!"

Tia watched her three friends talk for just a moment before they started to go in their separate ways. Yuuno's words came back to her mind, making her grip her fist. "Hey, Subaru!" She called out, making the people around turn and look at her. '_If I don't admit that I need someone, they may end up leaving me…_' She swallowed lightly. "Do you want to get a bite to eat or something?"

"Eh? Sure, I guess I'm hungry. Should we all go somewhere and-"

Tia cut her off. "No!" Her cheeks colored a little. "I mean just you and me… like a date…"

"A date?" Subaru blinked, feeling the eyes of the others on her. A few moments passed by her as the words sank in. "Yeah. Yeah! I'd love to go on a date with you!" She skated over to the girl and took her hand. "Come on!"

"H-hey!" Tia ran a few steps to keep up, not looking at the smiling people looking at her. "Not so fast you dork!"

"I'm not 'dork'! Call me by my pet name again!"

"No!"

* * *

To be concluded...

Fun Facts:

-Tia's "love-love mode" mood was given to her because: "The quiet girls are always wild in bed" and "The wild girls are always quiet in bed"...so since Tia is always snappy and easily angered, I thought that her being a secret romantic would be a nice flare to her personality. To back it up, I'll point out that in one episode Subaru said to Tia "When you voice your insecurities, you're really thinking the opposet" and even though her words were like that, Subaru knew that Tia really just wanted encouragement from her. So with that, I made Tia act tough on the outside but be a softy when she was alone with Subaru. Sorry if you don't like it, but I think it's cute : D

-Yuuno's Barrier Jacket is a rip off "Future" Trunks from dragonball Z  
-Yuuno's battle tactics were influenced by Kakashi from Naruto 


	4. Chapter 4

Waking up this morning was rather peaceful. For once I didn't feel like curling up into a ball and going back to sleep but instead I found myself taking a deep breath of air and stretching out. My stomach wasn't bothering me and I felt well rested to boot. Fate was curled up against me, resting her head on my chest and lightly gripping my shirt with one hand. The girl snored lightly but I always found it too cute to be annoying. Currently she was breathing rather heavily, still being stuffed up with her illness. I took a small moment to run my fingers through her hair and smile down at the blond. It was weird how a little bout of the flu could make us open up about our feelings toward each other. I knew that I would always love her and be there for her as well. Through anything, anytime, anywhere. I would always…Wait a second, I smell something… Sniffing again, I smiled. '_Score, Yuuno is baking muffins!_' I slid out from bed after setting my girlfriends head gently down and trotted down the stairs to get some food.

**Onyx Days IV**

**By: Satashi**

"Morning!" Yuuno greeted his friend while sitting the pan of muffins on top of the stove. "How are you feeling?"

"A hundred percent," Nanoha replied, looking over his shoulder at the fluffy treats. "Are they ready to eat?"

"They need to cool. No touching." He grinned at her as he made his way back to the sink to start cleaning up the mess he made earlier. "I said no touching, Nanoha."

"You can't even see me!" She took her hand back in mid-reach.

"Don't have to, I know you better than you know yourself."

"I guess so, you're even wearing my apron. You look great in pink, by the way."

"Oh that's mean." Yuuno chuckled despite himself. "And after I take care of you for three days, even running your classes."

"Thank you very much." Nanoha hopped up to sit on the counter, watching him. "You have to leave today?"

"Unfortunately Chrono only gave me enough time off to make sure you two were okay." He got down a glass and filled it up with orange juice before handing it to his friend. "Here you are."

"Thank you," She gratefully drank half of it on the first go.

"Even if you're feeling fine, remember that you could relapse if you stress yourself too much. Fate's still sick so don't think for a moment you're in the clear yet. Stay in bed and drink lots of fluids okay?"

"Yes Mother," Nanoha smiled at him happily.

"And don't forget to wash behind your ears." He poked her arm, getting swatted at. "Here, muffin." The boy handed her a small plate with the strawberry muffin on it.

"Good morning," Fate yawned as she walked into the kitchen hazily.

"Fate-chan, should you be up?" Nanoha quickly hopped down and walked over to her. "Here, come sit down." She lead her girlfriend to the barstools and helped her up on one. "Can I get you anything? Don't stress yourself okay?"

"Yes Mother," Fate grinned at Nanoha but turned his attention to Yuuno when the boy suddenly started laughing. "…What?"

"Nothing, nothing." He waved it off. "You two really are a couple."

"You told him?" Fate blushed lightly.

"Um…He knew a long time ago I liked you…"

"How long?"

"Like two years," Yuuno snorted, amused.

"Yuuno-kun!" Nanoha stomped her foot. "Don't embarrass me!"

"Two years? Wow." Fate leaned forward, idly munching on the muffin Yuuno plopped in front of her. "I feel special."

"You should," Yuuno grinned. "She would always talk about you whenever we would go out and do something." He grabbed the girl's hands when she tried to bop him on the head. "And she would change into clothes and ask me if I thought you would find her cute in them."

"Yuuno-kuuuuuunnn!" She whined lightly. "You're making me blush, don't tell her that!"

"What else did she do?" Fate pondered happily.

"Well you know she talks in her sleep right?"

"All too well."

"I do not!" Nanoha stammered. "People need to stop saying that!"

"Well there was this one time she stayed over at my place…"

Nanoha gasped out, obviously remembering that dream. "You tell her that and I'll make sure you'll never have any little ferretlings!" Yuuno wisely closed his mouth and grinned at her. "I can't believe you." The girl crossed her arms. Fate watched the two life-long friends argue with each other a moment longer before laying her head down on the counter and yawning. "What are you plans for the day?"

"Well," He took a sip of coffee before continuing. "The people at the library tend to slack off when I'm not around so I'm going to be heading back right after today's lesson."

"Aw," She pouted. "But we haven't even been able to have any fun together yet!"

"Playing scrabble at two in the morning with sick girls who slept all day is a blast."

"I still say you made that word up. The one with all the X's and Z's."

"Oh come on, you're just mad you lost." He smiled as he finished his drink with the last sip. "On that note, I should be heading out for the final lesson before I turn them back over to you." Yuuno took out Raising Heart from under his shirt and slid off the necklace. "I won't have time to come back after the class so I'll return this now." He put it around her neck. "All the data is stored under my name, don't forget to switch user mode or you'll end up with the book form."

Nanoha held back a laugh. "Yuuno-kun, I've been with her for fourteen-some years, I know how she works."

"Oh yeah," He grinned sheepishly. "Sorry." The boy reached down to the floor and picked up a duffel bag. "Well then, I should be going. Thanks for having me over, take care of yourself." The two hugged each other.

"Thank _you_ for taking care of us. Be good okay?"

"Always." He looked over at the blond. "Bye Fate, feel better all right?" He got a sleepy murmur in response, making him smirk. "Tell her bye for me again when she's not so sleepy?"

"Will do," Nanoha walked him to the door and gave another girlishly cute wave as he walked down the hallway. Closing the door slowly, Nanoha's lips turned up into smile. "Now that the Ferret is gone…" The door locked with an audible click, making Fate look up. "It's time for some fun…" She, for lack of a better word, strutted across the floor towards Fate while unbuttoning her nightshirt.

"Na-Nanoha-chan!?" Fate blushed darkly, slipping herself off the stool and walking over to her. "What are you- ahh!" She gasped out when the girl grabbed her shirt and ripped it open, tearing the buttons off the front in the process. Quickly she was pushed backwards up onto the wall. Nanoha's body sandwiched her between the wall and herself as she grabbed Fate's butt and quickly pulled against her thighs, forcing the legs out form under her. Instead of falling she found herself pushed harder against the wall and allowed her legs to wrap around Nanoha's waist. "Wha, what are you doing?" She felt her friend shift lightly and suddenly felt something pressing against her stomach. Looking down nervously, she gasped out. "Oh my god, are you wearing a strap-"

"Yes I am," Nanoha cooed at her seductively, licking her lips.

Slowly the corners of Fate's mouth turned upwards as she wrapped her arms loosely around Nanoha's neck, resting them on top of her shoulders. "…Then give it to me rough!"

"I was planning on it." Nanoha kissed her harshly. "Fate-chan…Fate chan!" Her hands squeezed her friend's butt tightly, rocking her hips just a little to tease the girl. "Fate-chan…. Wake up Fate-chan. Come on, Wake up Fate-chan."

Fate slowly opened her eyes and looked at the half eaten muffin in front of her. Her gaze turned to the side where she spotted Nanoha and Yuuno looking at her. "Aw look," The male laughed. "She doesn't have a clue what's going on!" Slowly she pushed herself up and realized that she had been resting against the bar.

"Oh leave her alone, she's sick." Nanoha giggled to herself before walking around the bar and over to her. "Really, Fate-chan, you shouldn't get out of bed if you can't even eat breakfast without falling asleep… Here, you're drooling." She picked up a napkin and wiped her friend's mouth while she became more aware. "You had this really weird laugh going on in your sleep, as if you were really enjoying something?" She finished cleaning the saliva from her mouth. "Good dream?"

"Ye-yeah…" She blushed darkly as the pieces fit together.

"You're all red…" Nanoha put her hand on her friend's forehead. "You seem to be a little warm… You should get back in bed." Taking a step forward she got in-between her friend's legs and pulled her onto herself in a type of backwards piggyback ride. "I'll carry you." The position quickly reminded Fate of her dream ten fold. "Ahh! Yuuno-kun get some tissues quick; her nose is bleeding!"

* * *

"You think it will be all right to stop by again un-announced?" Caro asked lightly as she rode the elevator up with her partner. "We've come by every day since they were first put in bed…"

"We won't stay long; I just want to make sure Fate-san is all right still." Elio looked over at her.

"You really like her don't you?" She looked over and up at him to see him nod. The boy had hit a growth spurt since he joined the squad a few months ago, making him a good half-foot taller than her. All in all she rather enjoyed him being so tall, as it made him look rather charming in her eyes. Subaru and Tia had both gained an inch almost, the harsh training forcing their bodies to adapt to it. Despite this, however, she hadn't grown any at all. '_At this rate I'll only come up to his chest when we're both fully grown…_' She sighed softly.

"Something wrong?"

"Eh? Um, no." She blushed lightly at the tone of voice he had with her; it was so much softer than when he spoke with anyone else. The elevator doors opened and the pair walked out, lightly brushing against each other. Caro was never shy about touching him, after all the first time they met his hands found themselves on her chest…or lack thereof. Lately however she realized that when they weren't on the battlefield, she would find herself seeking him out. On breaks or at dinner she would be next to him, sitting so their sides touched or with one hand on his elbow while they walked. '_It's almost like I have a crush on him…_'

Elio stopped walking a few steps later when he realized that the hand on his elbow was suddenly gone. He turned to look back, seeing Caro standing there with a shocked look on her face. "…You okay?"

"Y-Yeah!" She trotted up next to him again quickly, blushing. "Sorry…"

"No problem." The two began to walk again.

'_Okay Caro, calm down. So you have your first crush, he's no different than he was twenty seconds ago!'_ The pep-talk calmed her down slightly and she allowed herself to once again reach out to the boy, finding his arm already there as if he were waiting on it. She pushed the com button when they reached the door and only had to wait a few moments before they got a cheerful response.

"Hello," Nanoha greeted. "Who is it?"

"Elio," The male answered promptly.

"And Caro," She added in for him, finishing his sentence.

"Come on in, it's unlocked."

The two did as they were asked and looked around, finding Nanoha cleaning the living room while Fate laid on the couch, half asleep. "Are you well enough to be cleaning?" Caro asked, looking a little worried.

"No, she's not." Fate answered for her. "But she won't listen to me."

"Hush, I'm fine." Nanoha scolded as she put down her rag and cleaning spray. "Hello you two, make yourselves at home. Want anything to drink?"

"I'm all right, thank you." Elio instantly went over to Fate, who lifted her pillow and allowed the boy to sit down before replacing the cushion on his lap and using him as a prop. "How are you, sis?"

"Call me mom," She yawned.

Elio blushed lightly, looking over at Nanoha. "She's doped on medication," She smiled. "Just ignore her." She noticed that Caro was thinking awfully hard about something so she lead the younger girl into the kitchen to get her something to sip on. "Fate-chan originally wanted to adopt Elio," she explained while getting a glass down. "But since she wasn't old enough, or really able to properly do it, Fate-chan's mother is the official signed guardian, making Elio Fate's little brother."

"I see," Caro smiled while accepting the glass of kool-aid. She took a small dink and looked down into the colored liquid a moment before turning back up towards Nanoha. "Ne, can I ask you something? Um, personal not military?"

"Sure?" The older girl watched Caro hop up onto the barstool so she leaned against the bar from the kitchen side so they would be face to face. "What's on your mind?"

"Well…" Her cheeks colored a little. "How did you know when you had your first crush…?"

Instead of instantly pressing for answers on if it was Elio or not, Nanoha pretended to think a moment. "Hmmm…Well my first crush was different, you could say."

"How so?"

"Wellllll…." The girl proper her cheek up on her hand and thought about it. "We were always together since we were little and everyone always thought we were a couple so one day he just asked me if I want to. I said sure and we tried it out."

"Did it work?"

"Not at all," She laughed happily at the memory. "Nothing changed at all. We didn't talk any more or any less. We didn't hold hands more than we used to, we never kissed, didn't really do anything more than we used to."

"Oh, so it's not a good idea to rush things…?"

"I wouldn't say that." She reached out to pat the girl on the head to lift her spirits a little. "We were just friends and we're still really close today. I wouldn't change that part of my life for anything. We both learned a lot about each other and how we felt. It was then that I realized there were two different kind of 'loves'."

"Two?"

"Yes," She put a finger to her chin in thought. "This may be a little hard to understand since you're still young but for example: my first crush, Yuuno, is my best friend in the world. I love him a lot. My current crush, Fate-chan, is my girlfriend. I'm _in_ love with her."

"Fate-san and Nanoha-san are a couple?" She looked pleased at hearing that.

"Yeah," Nanoha nodded happily. "We are."

"That's so sweet!"

"So are Elio-kun and you."

"H-how did you know!?"

"It's plain as day." Nanoha laughed to herself. "So, Caro-san, how do you feel about Elio-kun?"

"I'm…not sure. I always feel a little easier when I'm around him, as if I'm a little stronger. I like touching him, too… Is that love?"

"I would say it's a nice start." Nanoha smiled at the younger girl. "Where it goes from there is up to you okay?"

"So go for it?"

"Go for it." She led the girl back into the living room after the drink was finished and had to bite back a laugh at the sight before them. Elio had a very amused look on his face with Fate laying on the couch on her back now. Thanks to her nose being stopped up, the girl was snoring rather loudly. "Seems like she's had all the fun she can stand for a little bit…" Nanoha walked over to them and scooped up the woman. "I'll put her to bed." The sounds cut off as Fate woke up slightly from the movement. She sniffed lightly and moaned out lazily.

"We'll let her get some rest then," Elio looked down at Caro when she took his hand but didn't say anything about it. "I'll see you tomorrow at the field?"

"You got it." Nanoha nodded at them and gave Caro an encouraging wink. The two left hand in hand, saying something about getting lunch together. "Well, that was interesting," she mused to herself while carrying her friend.

"What was?" Fate yawned out.

"Caro-san has a crush on Elio-kun, it's really quite cute."

"Mmhmm," Fate felt herself being laid down and grabbed Nanoha's shirt sleeve when she went to move away. "Nanoha-chan?"

"Yes Dear?"

"Wanna make love to me?" She gave her a sleepy smile, obviously more asleep than awake.

"Sure," She teased. "But you need to be better first, and to get better you need to sleep. So be a good girl and rest up okay?"

"Stay with me?"

Nanoha bit back a groan. '_I don't even want to –look- at my bed, let alone get in it again…_' Despite the thoughts the girl still nodded cheerfully and lifted the covers to crawl under them. '_I've been in this bed for the better part of en entire week almost…_' Fate curled up onto her and rested her head back onto her chest. '_I am a little tired from moving so much though…_' She allowed herself to cuddle up with her girlfriend. '_And besides, holding onto Fate is always nice…_'

* * *

Nanoha looked down at her students and smiled nervously as the smoke rose from their bodies. "Um, you all seem a little slow today… Did you slack off while I was away?"

"No," Tia moaned out as she forced herself to roll over onto her back. "I just feel funny today…"

"Me too," Subaru sighed. "The world is spinning…"

"… Please tell me you're not all sick!?" To answer her question, Elio stumbled over to the edge of the field and threw up into the water surrounding them. "Oh for the love of…" She looked over at Caro who seemed to be more or less okay, minus the hard training session she just had. "Caro-san how are you?"

"I'm fine," She smiled weakly. "Although if Elio's sick then…"

The instructor rubbed the bridge of her nose. "You only have a day or so before you're gone too huh?"

"…Sorry."

"It's okay… It's my fault for letting everyone stay over while I was sick first… Oh man…" She thought a moment. "Everyone go to Shamal's office right now and get a check up. The rest of today's training will be cancelled and I'll talk to the doctor before deciding what we'll do the next few days. Dismissed, and please take care of yourselves okay?" The girl let out another sigh as the people picked themselves up and staggered off. '_I guess I'll make rounds between them and make sure they're okay for the next few days...'_

* * *

"I'm home!" Nanoha called out as she walked through the door. "You here Fate-chan?"

"Up here!" She called from upstairs. "I'm on the bed!"

"Elio came to training today," Nanoha informed her as she walked across the living room. "He recovered fast, hard to believe it only took him two days to get over it."

"We're used to it," Fate replied absently. "Subaru and Tia should be there tomorrow. Caro-san is like you, though, so she'll probably be in bed for another few days. At least after this, everything will be normal around here again. What a weird week."

"I see. Anyway, what do you want to do…for…dinner…?" Nanoha's words tailed off when she saw her girlfriend on the bed.

Fate blinked, wondering what made her friend suddenly get a dreamy look on her face. Looking down, she realized that she was only wearing her silk see-through night gown and precious little else. On top of that; Bardiche was in pieces around her, getting cleaned and lubed. '_That's right,_' She thought happily. '_Nanoha is a sucker for weapons and technology and the like… Seeing me wearing this while working on Bardiche probably has her so hot she'll pounce me and force hot fiery love-love on me until my body collapses!_' A hot blush went over her face as she brought her hands to her cheeks. '_Kyaaa, what will I do?! If we start now we probably won't get any sleep and I'll be too tired to spar with Signum tomorrow!... But if my dear Nanoha wants too…_'

"Oh wow…!" Nanoha finally managed out, cheeks coloring. She quickly walked over to the bed and got onto it, crawling towards Fate. The blond opened her arms up and closed her eyes, offering herself to her girlfriend. "Is this the new model cleaning kit!?" Nanoha squealed out happily, making Fate falter and look at her. "It _is_! They say that the new lube prevents cartridge jams by ninety-eight percent!" She picked up the cleaning tools and gasped at them. "And these will make your parts run a lot smoother and reduce the heat transferred!" Her hands picked up another item. "Oh my gosh, they even have the magical distribution system wash in here! Raising Heart has been overheating from my new shells so this would be perfect for her!" Nanoha looked up into Fate's eyes with an expression of a little kid in a candy store. "Can I use the kit when you're done? Please? Please!?"

Fate sighed. "I don't mind."

"Thank you!" Nanoha hugged her happily.

"You're welcome," The red eyed girl smiled despite herself. '_Well, no love-love, but if she's happy then I'm happy too._'

"By the way, Fate-chan?" She pulled back and allowed herself to look down at Fate's breast through the sheer fabric. "Lately I've been having these weird…"

"…Dreams?" Fate finished for her, locking their eyes. "Me too." The next moment she found herself pushed back on the bed and lips claiming hers frantically.

"…Sir?" Bardiche asked lightly, still dis-assembled on the bed as the two girls started rolling over each other and losing clothing. "…Sir?" He tried again. "Put me together again, sir?"

"Bardiche," Fate gasped out as Nanoha's head went to her chest.

"Yes sir!" The device sounded happier now that he would be put back together.

"Start video recording, camera on us please." Fate grinned at her girlfriend, pleased she would be able to release the tension that had built up from staying in bed with her girlfriend for so long but not able to do anything.

"Oooh, kinky," Nanoha purred as she rolled them over again so she was on top.

"…Yes sir…" Bardiche answered after a small pause.

* * *

The end. 


End file.
